About four weeks ago, the running shoe manufacturer On had a brilliant debut on the stock market. Right at the start of trading, the price jumped almost 50 percent and gave the Swiss from now on a market value of 11.4 billion US dollars. One person in particular benefits from it.
Roger Federer apparently not only has one or the other ace up his sleeve on the tennis court. In terms of investments, the currently injured superstart recently achieved a real coup. With the highly regarded IPO of running shoe manufacturer On, he suddenly became richer by 746 million US dollars. Federer has held shares in the company, which specializes in particularly high-quality running shoes, since 2019. It is true that the On share recently fell significantly after its brilliant start to the stock market and is now quoted at around 31 US dollars instead of 39 US dollars at the beginning. Nevertheless, Federer is likely to have finally joined the ranks of sports billionaires through the IPO, something that the golfer Tiger Woods and basketball legend Michael Jordan had achieved before him. It is possible that he no longer needed the On IPO for this. After all, Federer has already generated $ 900 million in prize money and advertising revenue in his career. Among other things, he is an advertising partner of Mercedes, Credit Suisse, Lindt and Rolex.
And involvement in On isn’t his only one. For example, what many consider to be the best tennis player in history is also involved in the aircraft rental company Netjets, which in turn belongs to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. The Swiss also flies to the tournaments with the jets, some of which Federer owns himself. He also holds a stake in the player consultancy firm Team 8. In addition, he made a number of real estate investments through the Tenro holding company.
In one fell swoop, the tennis star never became richer by 746 million US dollars before the On IPO. If things don’t work out on the court – Federer has been plagued with knee problems for some time, which is why he recently had several operations in a row – then at least the investment works. For Federer, by the way, there is no room for speculation. “It suits me, I’ve never made crazy investments,” he said of his involvement with On. He may dream big, but he would always play it safe.
David Allemann, Olivier Bernhard and Caspar Coppetti, the three founders of On, also have big dreams. They want to continue attacking the major sporting goods manufacturers Nike, Adidas, Puma and also Asics. At the moment they are doing pretty well. In a very short time they have managed to establish On as a real alternative to the well-known brand manufacturers. Eleven years after it was founded, On shoes are now available in 6500 specialist shops in 50 countries.
One benefits from the fact that the entire sporting goods industry is benefiting from the major fitness and running trend that has already emerged in recent years, but which increased again significantly in the corona lockdowns. The market is growing very quickly, especially in China. “Jogging is becoming popular there,” says founder Coppetti. And “when the Chinese start jogging, they don’t just do it as a hobby. Then they train for ultra marathons ”. That would suit On, who try to cover and conquer precisely this niche with their expensive shoes that are specialized in competitive athletes.
When it comes to marketing, On partially relies on a subscription model that is still very untypical for the industry. The new Cyclon shoe is available for 35 francs a month. Once you have run 600 kilometers with it, you can send it back and receive a new model in return. Subscription models are particularly popular in the tech industry, but they are new and daring in the sporting goods and fashion sectors. Apparently On has already been able to win 10,000 customers for the subscription.
Roger Federer wants to win again soon. Far away from the stock market. According to his own statement, he definitely wants to return to the field, even though he is now 40 years old.
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